Korynetes caeruleus

Korynetes caeruleus, also known as the steely blue beetle, is a predatory beetle in the family Cleridae. The species name is occasionally misspelled as "coeruleus" (e.g.,^[1]), but the spelling caeruleus is preserved by Opinion 604 of the ICZN, issued in 1961.^[2]

Korynetes caeruleus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Cucujiformia
Family:	Cleridae
Genus:	Korynetes
Species:	K. caeruleus
Binomial name
Korynetes caeruleus (De Geer, 1775)
Synonyms
Clerus caeruleus DeGeer, 1775 Attelabus geoffroyanus Laicharting, 1783 Clerus nigrocoeruleus Geoffroy, 1799 Korynetes coeruleus (DeGeer, 1775) (Missp.) Korynetes cyanellus Dejean, 1837 Korynetes unicolor Chevrolat, 1876 Korynetes meridionalis Obenberger, 1916 Korynetes obenbergeri Jansson, 1936

The adult is between 3.5 and 6.5 mm (0.14 and 0.26 in) long, has reddish-brown antennae, a scantily spotted brown head and neck shield, and shiny blue elytra. The larvae live in tunnelled wood that has been infested by the common furniture beetle and the deathwatch beetle and they feed on the larvae of these wood-damaging insects. The presence of Korynetes caeruleus indicates a heavy infestation of either woodboring insect. Adult females mate and lay eggs near or just inside exit holes, then die.^[3] It is not to be confused with Necrobia rufipes, which is also a steely blue beetle in the family Cleridae. Both beetles have a significance in forensic entomology but for different reasons.